


Jon of Winterfell

by Valyrian_Steel



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms
Genre: Accidental Incest, Alternate Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Jon Snow didn't go to The Wall, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, F/M, Implied/Referenced Incest, Incest, Jon Snow Knows Nothing, Jon Snow is Not Called Aegon, Jon Snow is a Targaryen, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-03
Updated: 2018-04-03
Packaged: 2019-04-17 22:00:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14198571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Valyrian_Steel/pseuds/Valyrian_Steel
Summary: Five years ago, Jon Snow of Winterfell left his home for Essos to experience the life a bastard never could in the Seven Kingdoms. Experiencing much success as a sellsword, he is now recalled by his father the Lord of Winterfell to assist him in his new responsibilities as the Hand of the King and returns to the Seven Kingdoms an experienced man.What makes the task far harder for the untested and honest-to-a-fault Lord Stark are the intrigues that surround the Iron Throne, with disloyal lords being the least of his worries. Robert Baratheon was never meant to be king, and even after his legendary rescue of Lyanna Stark, now Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, their marriage has become increasingly distant, perhaps due to her inability to give him a son.A 'small' secret on behalf of the Lord of Winterfell also complicates matters.





	Jon of Winterfell

**PROLOGUE**

 

When Jory Cassel had walked into that tavern in Volantis, Jon knew immediately that his time in Essos was at an end.

 When he had left Winterfell five years’ prior, Jory was more than half a head taller than Jon, but now they were roughly of the same height. _I suppose hundreds of hours on hundreds of different battlefields will do that to any man._

The moment he saw Jon the man broke into a wide grin that sent an ache coursing through his soul as he remembered snowy days under the summer sun, in what seemed like another life. “Jon Snow. Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes, lad.”

 “I’ve missed you too, Jory. What brings you to this fine establishment?”

 Jory let out a low whistle. “We all heard you had made it far here, serving with the Golden Company, and the Lost Legion. But even those men can’t enter establishments this close to the Black Walls.”

 “I’ve made quite a name for myself within this city,” Jon winked, invoking a chuckle from the man.

 “So we’ve all heard. I suppose I should have expected it for a son of Stark.” Jory’s rueful smile immediately faded.

 Jon frowned. “What’s happened? Robb, Bran, Arya, Father… are they alright?”

 Jory winced. “They are fine… for now,” he added with an afterthought. Jon raised an inquisitive eyebrow. “Lad, Jon Arryn died five months ago, and the King rode North with your aunt Queen Lyanna. He’s named Lord Eddard as his new Hand. The problem is, with all the recent unrest in the Seven Kingdoms, Lord Stark no longer feels that your… journeys here should continue. He’s requested you return to Westeros and utilize what you’ve learned here in service of House Stark.”

 “Gods.”

 “Lad, I know it’s a tough decision, with all this,” he gestured outside towards the scenic Volantene street, “but-”

 “No, that isn’t what I meant. I’ve been longing to return home regardless of this order.” Now it was Jory’s turn to look surprised. “It’s just Father will not last with the vipers in the South. They make the Magisters here look like unblemished maidens.”

 Jory laughed grimly. “That’s what I’m worried about, lad.”

  

They boarded the _Magister’s Daughter_ at daybreak the next morn, with all of Jon’s possessions neatly piled into the cabin he had rented. On his bed lay the sleeping form of the direwolf that accompanied him through battles uncountable, and on the bedside lay the sheathed blade which had seen him through them. Jory had whistled loudly when he first saw the ornate sword. It wasn’t Valyrian steel, but it was fine craftsmanship nonetheless, its hilt made from the ivory that the Magister who had presented it to him claimed was carved from the fang of a wyvern from Sothoryos. Jon wasn’t entirely sure of his claims, but he could still appreciate the hours that went into opulently carving and embellishing it. It was forged from an alloy of steel and some other metal from Qarth he could not exactly remember, and it was of the length that most Volantenes preferred, something that back home would be considered a bastard sword. He remembered he had inwardly laughed at the irony of a bastard being granted a bastard sword when he had first received it, before christening the blade _Wyvern’s Fang_ for the supposed material of the hilt, and the black pommel carved into the shape of a snarling serpent with jade eyes.

“How’d you get that, lad?” Jory had asked him as they were on the palanquin traveling towards the docks.

“I saved a Magister’s daughter from a Dothraki horselord who had abducted her,” he told Jory. “The poor girl had a bruised lip, a swollen eye, and was near mad from panic, but luckily I caught up to him before he could do any worse.”

“Is that why they let you live so close to the Black Walls?”

“Partly. I’ve also served many other Magisters and even the son of a Triarch. I suppose it also helps that they somehow think I look partly Valyrian.”

 Jory snorted. “Those inbreeding lords must have only seen those of their own kind before looking at you. How many generations of incest does it take for one to be fool enough to mistake a Stark for a Volantene?” 

“I’m no Stark, Jory.”

He turned to look at Jon, a glint in his eye. “And that’s where you’re wrong, Jon Snow.”

 

The sound of heavy footsteps brought him out of his musings. He immediately grabbed Wyvern’s Fang and slung the polished leather strap over his back, a force of habit as he stepped towards the door. He could hear the faint mumbling of conversation from the other side, and he pressed his ear to listen through the point where the wooden material of the cabin door was weakest, a cheap trick he had picked up from one of the spymasters of the Golden Company. 

“Thank you for your kind assistance, sir,” a female spoke in a High Valyrian.

“It is my pleasure, my lady.” The rougher bastard Valyrian of the captain cut through. “If I may, I must now humbly leave you to go above-deck.”

“It is no problem, sir,” the lady said with a musical laugh. The heavy footsteps of the captain faded away, and Jon stepped back. Moments later, however, he heard the doorknob turn and quickly spun around to come face-to-face with a Westerosi lady, whose blue eyes betrayed only the slightest hint of innocent surprised.

“My apologies, my lord,” she quickly apologized. “It is all my fault: I must have walked into the wrong cabin.”

“There is no need to apologize, my lady,” Jon replied in the Common Tongue, taking her once more by surprise. Years of treating with wealthy noblewomen had taught him to wear courtesies tighter than armour. “The fault was an easy one to make, and one you should not trouble yourself over.”

 He raised his hand towards her. “Jon Snow of Winterfell.”

 

She took it, shaking it with a smile that displayed her tiny dimples.

“Tyene Sand of Sunspear.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hoped you enjoyed the first chapter! Constructive criticism is always appreciated - please do leave a comment down below. 
> 
> Some initial disclaimers:  
> \- This Jon Snow is different in many ways from the Jon Snow we see in canon. He's far more confident and charismatic, and his years in Essos has made his moral code more flexible due to the political shrewdness required to survive even as a common sellsword. For example, you might see him have fewer qualms about bedding a pretty woman when compared to Jon "I will never father a bastard!" Snow from the original series. Nevertheless, he still has a strong sense of honor - a couple years abroad can't really wash away a decade under Ned Stark, after all.  
> \- I'm still deciding on pairings, but any Jonerys/Jonsa fans can be prepared to find themselves disappointed (in the beginning, at least). Expect Jon to be far more experimental - I might even slip in some relationships that leave Jon questioning his morals as well.  
> \- Not sure how much and how consistently I'll be able to update this due to exams. 
> 
> EDIT: By the way, I'll be mainly using character descriptions from the books - so for example, Tyene in this case is the blonde, blue-eyed Sand Snake we know from ASOIAF rather than the Salt Dornish lady from the show. 
> 
> Thank you very much for reading :)


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